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The Retreat from Liberty

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Moorcock is first and foremost a master
fantasist and one of the bold crew who dragged
golden age SF kicking and screaming into the
New World. But here there is a glimpse of
a different man. Here you will find the writer
expressing some of his deepest held personal
and (perforce) political beliefs. This
extended argument, written in the midst of
Thatcher's Britain focuses on the author's
concern for his society's implacable retreat
from those liberties that once seemed so
important to Britain in it's recent history.
As he builds his argument, step by step he
challenges the encroachement of the New Moral
Right's assault on the Liberalisation of
modern society and requires us to take our
positions, on one side of the line or the
other. This work is a stern antidote for the
backlash but it also challenges those who
would espouse liberal or even radical
positions to the detriment of the essence of
human liberty. Most strikingly, in his final
discourse on pornography and censorship
Moorcock's challenge is clear - repressive
social action, no matter how liberal or
enlightened it's motivation, is tyranny. A
thought provoking work, which may not win
instant converts to his thesis but will
surely engender critical reflection on
the reader's understanding of Liberty and
it's place in the modern world